Flock cameras are tracking people as well as cars


Flock Safety’s cameras are automated license plate readers (ALPRs) designed to help police find stolen cars or wanted suspects.

A joint investigation by 404 Media and WIRED, based on data recovered from a physically removed Flock camera, found that its on-device software explicitly detects people as well as vehicles, bicycles, and license plates.

Separately, Washington DC’s police union says the Metropolitan Police Department used Flock data to track officers under Internal Affairs investigation without their knowledge.

Together, these reports illustrate a privacy problem: A network built to record the movements of vehicles can readily be used to follow almost anyone. The latest reporting adds an important technical detail to that debate.

Read more…
Source:  MalwareBytes Labs


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • FBI issues warning against using Chinese manufactured drones

    February 21, 2024

    Chinese-manufactured unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), more commonly known as drones, continue to pose a significant risk to critical infrastructure and U.S. national security, according to an FBI advisory. While any UAS could have vulnerabilities that enable data theft or facilitate network compromises, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has enacted laws that provide the government with ...

  • Law enforcement disrupt world’s biggest ransomware operation

    February 20, 2024

    In a significant breakthrough in the fight against cybercrime, law enforcement from 10 countries have disrupted the criminal operation of the LockBit ransomware group at every level, severely damaging their capability and credibility. LockBit is widely recognised as the world’s most prolific and harmful ransomware, causing billions of euros worth of damage. This international sweep follows ...

  • U.S. conducted cyberattack on suspected Iranian spy ship

    February 16, 2024

    The United States recently conducted a cyberattack against an Iranian military ship that had been collecting intelligence on cargo vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, according to three U.S. officials. The operation was intended to inhibit the Iranian ship’s ability to share intelligence with Houthi rebels in Yemen who have been firing ...

  • US military notifies 20,000 of data breach after cloud email leak

    February 14, 2024

    The U.S. Department of Defense is notifying tens of thousands of individuals that their personal information was exposed in an email data spill last year. According to the breach notification letter sent out to affected individuals on February 1, the Defense Intelligence Agency — the DOD’s military intelligence agency — said, “numerous email messages were inadvertently ...

  • Prudential reveals it was hit by data breach

    February 14, 2024

    Hackers were able to break into one of the largest life insurance companies in the United States and stole sensitive employee and contractor data. Prudential Financial has filed an 8-K form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) detailing the attack, according to a report. As per the filing, unnamed threat actors accessed the networks ...

  • State of Emergency: How Minnesota hospitals, state officials prepare for cyber attacks

    February 13, 2024

    The State of Minnesota stores and protects data on some six million residents, and that’s only one cache of sensitive information under the close watch of Minnesota IT Services (MNIT). “It’s everything from highways and highway traffic control systems, we run the zoo. We run everything in between,” John Israel, chief information security officer at MNIT, ...